Cardinals demote Adrian Wilson, Ken Whisenhunt says it worked

Posted by Michael David Smith on November 19, 2012, 2:10 PM EDT

AP

Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson has been demoted.

Wilson, who was chosen to the Pro Bowl at the end of five of the last six seasons, was not in the starting lineup on Sunday against the Falcons, and his playing time was cut sharply — he played only 41 of 73 defensive snaps this week, after playing every defensive snap in the Cardinals’ last game.

Wilson has given everything he has to the cardinals, playing through injuries and taking a pay cut to stick around. If he’s going to ride the pines, you should have given him an opportunity to catch on with a team that has a chance to win by trading him before the deadline or releasing him.

Adrian Wilson was a great player. He could ask for his release but… I don’t think anyone would pick him up. The best way to honor AD is to let him play out this years contract and quietly let him go in the off season unless he accepts it’s time and retires.

I do Agree AW should be giving the year to play out for what he has done for AZ in past years. The year is lost anyway. Unless they are already admitting that and looking to next years players to see what they got.

Adrian Wilson is still one of the best safties in the nfl. Sure he hasn’t had his usual pro bowl start to this season but he doesn’t deserve to be demoted. He was the first pro bowl caliber player to stay with the cardinals when every other great player they drafted before him bailed as soon as their rookie contact was up. He made it worthwhile for other players like Larry to stick around and try to build this team into a contender. If it weren’t for him the cardinals would still be the laughing stock of the league that they had been since they went to Arizona. I’ve been a supporter of whiz despite the struggles but this latest move of disrespect toward Wilson is unbelievable. The cardinals owe more to Adrian Wilson than most people realize and his impact probably means more than any other player in the history of the franchise